Responsibility 42: Grief and Sorrow Due to Separation Part 1

Another responsibility of a true believer is that one must feel grief and sorrow due to one’s separation from the Imam and not being able to see him. This state of grief should be a continuous feeling for a believer and should not be limited to merely a few days during the year.

If a true believer is only able to be in spiritual contact with the Imam for certain hours or parts of the day, then at least in those time periods, one must express grief at being separated from the Imam and the delay in his advent.

There is a section in Du’a al-Nudbah which explains the sorrow one feels at being separated from his Imam:

هَلْ مِنْ مُعِينٍ فَأُطِيلَ مَعَهُ العَوِيلَ وَ الْبُكَاءَ؟

“Is there any assistant that will be alongside me in prolonging my grief and tears (at being separated from you, O’ Imam?)”1